COLLECTION OF MATH TRICKS, PUZZLES AND QUOTES

TRICKS

Multiply Up to 20X20 In Your Head

In just FIVE minutes you should learn to quickly multiply up to 20x20 in your head. With
this trick, you will be able to multiply any two numbers from 11 to 19 in your head quickly,
without the use of a calculator.
I will assume that you know your multiplication table reasonably well up to 10x10.
Try this:

Take 15 x 13 for an example.

Always place the larger number of the two on top in your mind.

Then draw the shape of Africa mentally so it covers the 15 and the 3 from the 13 below.
Those covered numbers are all you need.

First add 15 + 3 = 18

Add a zero behind it (multiply by 10) to get 180.

Multiply the covered lower 3 x the single digit above it the "5" (3x5= 15)

Add 180 + 15 = 195.

The 11 Rule
You likely all know the 10 rule (to multiply by 10, just add a 0 behind the number) but do
you know the 11 rule? It is as easy! You should be able to do this one in you head for any
two digit number. Practice it on paper first!
To multiply any two digit number by 11:

For this example we will use 54.

Separate the two digits in you mind (5__4).

Notice the hole between them!

Add the 5 and the 4 together (5+4=9)

Put the resulting 9 in the hole 594. That's it! 11 x 54=594

The only thing tricky to remember is that if the result of the addition is greater than 9, you
only put the "ones" digit in the hole and carry the "tens" digit from the addition. For
example 11 x 57 ... 5__7 ... 5+7=12 ... put the 2 in the hole and add the 1 from the 12 to the 5
in to get 6 for a result of 627 ... 11 x 57 = 627

Finger Math: 9X Rule

To multiply by 9,try this:
(1) Spread your two hands out and place them on a desk or table in front of you.
(2) To multiply by 3, fold down the 3rd finger from the left. To multiply by 4, it would be
the 4th finger and so on.
(3) the answer is 27 ... READ it from the two fingers on the left of the folded down finger
and the 7 fingers on the right of it.
This works for anything up to 9x10!

Square a 2 Digit Number Ending in 5

For this example we will use 25

Take the "tens" part of the number (the 2 and add 1)=3

Multiply the original "tens" part of the number by the new number (2x3)

Take the result (2x3=6) and put 25 behind it. Result the answer 625.

Try a few more 75 squared ... = 7x8=56 ... put 25 behind it is 5625.
55 squared = 5x6=30 ... put 25 behind it ... is 3025. Another easy one! Practice it on paper
first!

Square 2 Digit Number: UP-DOWN Method

Square a 2 Digit Number, for this example 37:

Look for the nearest 10 boundary

In this case up 3 from 37 to 40.

Since you went UP 3 to 40 go DOWN 3 from 37 to 34.

Now mentally multiply 34x40

The way I do it is 34x10=340;

Double it mentally to 680

Double it again mentally to 1360

This 1360 is the FIRST interim answer.

37 is "3" away from the 10 boundary 40.

Square this "3" distance from 10 boundary.

3x3=9 which is the SECOND interim answer.

Add the two interim answers to get the final answer.

Answer: 1360 + 9 = 1369

PUZZLES

Puzzle:

In this diagram 11 matches make 3 squares:

Your challenge is to move 3 matches to show 2 squares

Solution:

Plus&Minus

Below is an equation that is not correct yet. By adding a number of plus

signs and minus signs between the digits on the left side (without
changes the order of the digits), the equation can be made correct.
123456789 = 100

PUZZLE:

A high school has a strange principal. On the first day, he has his students perform an odd
opening day ceremony:
There are one thousand lockers and one thousand students in the school. The principal asks the
first student to go to every locker and open it. Then he has the second student go to every
second locker and close it. The third goes to every third locker and, if it is closed, he opens it,
and if it is open, he closes it. The fourth student does this to every fourth locker, and so on.
After the process is completed with the thousandth student, how many lockers are open?

SOLUTION:

The only lockers that remain open are perfect squares (1, 4, 9, 16, etc) because they are the only
numbers divisible by an odd number of whole numbers; every factor other than the number's
square root is paired up with another. Thus, these lockers will be "changed" an odd number of
times, which means they will be left open. All the other numbers are divisible by an even number
of factors and will consequently end up closed.
So the number of open lockers is the number of perfect squares less than or equal to one
thousand. These numbers are one squared, two squared, three squared, four squared, and so on,
up to thirty one squared. (Thirty two squared is greater than one thousand, and therefore out of
range.) So the answer is thirty one.
PUZZLE:
Jennifer and Jose live in different sections of their town but go to the same school. Jennifer left
for school ten minutes before Jose and they met in the park. When they met, who was closer to
school?
ANSWER:
They are equidistant since they meet in the same place.

Puzzle 1: Honey Bottle

A bottle fully contains honey. The honey bottle weighed 1.5kg. Then the bottle was weighed with
half of the honey, it was 900 grams. Now guess what would be the weight of the bottle?

Answers : Math Puzzles and Riddles

Let the bottle weight be x
Let the honey weight be y
The weight of the bottle with honey is 1.5kg
Therefore x + y = 1500 grams -> (1)
Then the weight of the bottle with half of the honey is 900 grams
Therefore x + (y/2) = 900 grams
That is 2x + y = 1800 -> (2)
Solving the first and second equation
2x + y = 1800
x + y = 1500
------------------------x
= 300
------------------------Therefore the weight of the bottle is 300 grams.

MATH QUOTES